Amp Solar Group will be selling its equity
interests in the US-based business
TORONTO and NEW
YORK, Feb. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - A consortium
comprising funds managed by Fiera Infrastructure Inc. ("Fiera
Infrastructure"), an affiliate of Fiera Capital Corporation
(TSX: FSZ), and Palisade Infrastructure Group ("Palisade
Infrastructure"), has agreed to jointly acquire 100% of the
equity interests in Amp US Primary Holdings Inc. ("Amp US"),
a US-based renewable energy generation and battery storage business
from Amp Solar Group Inc. ("Amp Energy"), a Canadian-based
global energy transition platform.
Amp US is a leading developer, owner and operator of US
community solar and storage projects. Since entering the US market
in 2016, the company has experienced significant growth, placing
the platform in a primary position within the distributed
generation market. With headquarters in Denver, Colorado, the company has built a
portfolio with generation capacity of approximately 200
MWDC across 39 operating or under construction projects
expected to be completed in the short term. Additionally, the
company has a large pipeline of solar and storage projects expected
to be developed and built across existing and new US markets. Its
management team has deep experience in greenfield development,
asset management, offtaker and subscriber management, project
acquisitions and financing.
The transaction follows the passing of the Inflation Reduction
Act in August 2022, which provides a
robust and long-term renewable energy policy framework in
the United States and accelerates
the strong policy momentum for state-level community solar
programs.
Fiera Infrastructure and Palisade Infrastructure will continue
to support the company's long-term strategy to develop, own and
operate its growing portfolio and bring the financial and economic
benefits of solar generation and battery storage to local
communities across the US, including low-to-moderate income
households and housing authorities. Furthermore, the company's
existing portfolio comprising operating and under-construction
projects is expected to abate approximately 171,000 tonnes of CO2
annually by 2024.
"Palisade Infrastructure is pleased to secure this high-quality
renewable energy platform on behalf of our investors and to partner
with Fiera Infrastructure on this transaction," said Mike Reynolds, Managing Director, Americas of
Palisade Infrastructure. "We believe community solar is one of the
most attractive segments of the US renewables market and this
investment allows us to leverage our strong existing expertise in
the broader renewables sector. There is growing subscriber demand
and policy support nationwide for community solar programs, which
provides strong tailwinds for Amp US to build out its diversified
project pipeline across the country. We are excited to invest in
and support the management team and look forward to maintaining an
ongoing relationship with the global Amp Energy platform."
Reynolds added, "The transaction will increase the Palisade
Infrastructure Group's total renewables capacity under management
to over 1.8 GW and represents our third North American investment,
demonstrating our continued appetite for high quality
infrastructure businesses in this market. The transaction is also
an excellent opportunity for Palisade Impact, given the community
solar sector's undisputed social and environmental benefits."
"Fiera Infrastructure is excited to announce its investment in
Amp US, a leader in US community solar," said Brooks Kaufman, Managing Director of Fiera
Infrastructure. "We believe the company is well positioned, with a
strong management and operations team, to expand through scale
acquisitions and new development in an attractive and growing
sector with strong tailwinds. We look forward to partnering with
Palisade Infrastructure to support the management team and their
strategy to provide equitable access to renewable solar power
across the communities it serves."
Alina Osorio, President of Fiera
Infrastructure, remarked, "Amp US will play a meaningful role in
Fiera Infrastructure's continued commitment to support energy
transition across our core markets. The investment will further
diversify our portfolio of clean energy investments in wind,
utility-scale solar, energy from waste, and hydroelectric
generation."
"We are proud of the tremendous growth of the US platform and
the world-class team we have developed," said Dave Rogers, Founder and CEO of Amp Energy.
"Palisade Infrastructure and Fiera Infrastructure are focused on
the continued scaling of the business, and we look forward to them
carrying on the mission to drive the energy transition forward with
our high-growth fully integrated platform. Over the last five
years, our US business has grown to become a leading player in the
community solar market. We are excited to see the US team partner
with Palisade Infrastructure and Fiera Infrastructure to continue
to accelerate the core mission of building the top distributed
generation platform in the US."
Fiera Infrastructure's acquisition is being made on behalf of
funds managed by Fiera Infrastructure. Palisade Infrastructure's
acquisition is being made on behalf of funds managed by Palisade
Americas Management LLC and its Australian-based affiliate Palisade
Impact.
The transaction is expected to close in March 2023, subject to customary closing
conditions and regulatory approvals.
Macquarie Capital acted as financial advisor and DLA Piper LLP
US acted as legal advisor to Fiera Infrastructure and Palisade
Infrastructure on the transaction. KeyBanc Capital Markets acted as
financial advisor and Milbank as legal advisor to Amp Energy on the
transaction.
About Fiera Infrastructure
Fiera Infrastructure is a leading global mid-market direct
infrastructure investor operating across all subsectors of the
infrastructure asset class and an affiliate of Fiera Capital
Corporation ("Fiera Capital"). Led by a team of highly
experienced and specialized professionals, the firm leverages
strong global relationships, with a local presence in Toronto, London, and New
York. Fiera Infrastructure has assets under management and
commitments of C$3.8 billion as of
December 31, 2022. Fiera
Infrastructure has invested in more than 50 infrastructure assets
across utilities, telecommunications, transportation, renewables,
and PPPs.
About Fiera Capital
Fiera Capital (or "the Company") is a leading independent asset
management firm with a growing global presence and approximately
C$158.5 billion in assets under
management as of December 31, 2022.
The Company delivers customized and multi-asset solutions across
public and private market asset classes to institutional, financial
intermediary and private wealth clients across North America, Europe and key markets in Asia. Fiera Capital's depth of expertise,
diversified investment platform and commitment to delivering
outstanding service are core to our mission of being at the
forefront of investment management science to create sustainable
wealth for clients. Fiera Capital trades under the ticker FSZ on
the Toronto Stock Exchange. www.fieracapital.com
Headquartered in Montreal,
Fiera Capital, with its affiliates in various jurisdictions, has
offices in over a dozen cities around the world, including
New York (U.S.), London (UK), and Hong Kong (SAR).
Each affiliated entity (each an "Affiliate") of Fiera Capital
only provides investment advisory or investment management services
or offers investment funds in the jurisdictions where the Affiliate
and/or the relevant product is registered or authorized to provide
services pursuant to an exemption from registration.
The Company does not provide investment advisory services in the
U.S. or to U.S. investors. In the U.S., asset management services
are provided by the Company's affiliates who are investment
advisers that are registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) or exempt from registration. Registration with the
SEC does not imply a certain level of skill or training. For
details on the particular registration of, or exemptions therefrom
relied upon by, any Fiera Capital entity, please consult this
webpage.
Additional information about Fiera Capital Corporation,
including the Company's annual information form, is available on
SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
About Palisade Infrastructure Group
Palisade Infrastructure Group is a global independent,
specialist infrastructure and real assets manager with a local
presence in New York, Sydney and Melbourne. Our primary focus is generating
outstanding risk-adjusted returns for our institutional and
wholesale investors by investing in mid-market infrastructure and
infrastructure adjacent assets in a sustainable manner.
Palisade Infrastructure's North American infrastructure
capability leverages its extensive track record of successful
investment in Australia &
New Zealand and is focused on the
energy transition, digitization and transport infrastructure
sectors. It employs a partnership-focused approach with a long-term
investment horizon.
Palisade Impact is part of the Palisade Infrastructure Group and
is a specialist, impact investment manager that provides
institutional and wholesale investors with access to investments
targeting solutions to environmental and social challenges.
About Amp Energy
Amp Energy is a well-established global energy transition
development platform, which delivers renewables, battery storage,
and hydrogen at scale, together with proprietary AI-enabled grid
flexibility through its Amp X platform. Since its inception 14
years ago, Amp Energy has developed and built 3 GW of assets
globally, and has another 4 GW either in late stage development or
construction. Amp Energy is backed by major investments from
institutional capital partners including global private equity firm
the Carlyle Group, who has invested over US$440 million. The company has global operations
throughout North America, the UK,
Australia, Japan, and Spain.
Amp X has developed a disruptive grid edge digital platform to
allow all forms of distributed generation and load to make a
dynamic contribution to the energy system, whether as an individual
unit or as an aggregated group of assets, providing flexibility,
resilience and system stability at the lowest possible price.
Disclosure
This press release may contain "forward-looking statements"
which reflect the current expectations of Fiera Capital, Palisade
Infrastructure and/or their affiliates. These statements reflect
current beliefs, expectations and assumptions with respect to
future events and are based on information currently available.
Although based upon what Fiera Capital, Palisade Infrastructure and
their affiliates believe to be reasonable assumptions, there is no
guarantee that actual results, performance, or achievements will be
consistent with these forward-looking statements. There is no
obligation for Fiera Capital, Palisade Infrastructure and/or their
affiliates to update or alter any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
The information presented is for informational purposes only and
is not intended to be, and should not be construed as, an offer to
sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, any investment
product. The information presented in this document, in whole or in
part, is not investment, tax, legal or other advice, nor does it
consider the investment objectives or financial circumstances of
any investor.
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SOURCE Amp Energy
